Star Wars - Legend of the Heroes
by christos200
Summary: The New Jedi Order has all but been destroyed. The First Order is threatening the New Republic and peace has been shattered. Luke Skywalker, last of the Jedi, wanders the galaxy searching for the one prophesized to restore peace to the galaxy and destroy the First Order. Will his chosen one and his allies be able to defeat the forces of evil and end this destructive conflict?
1. The old storyteller

This story is set during the time of Episode VII but many things have changed from the movie, so do not expect it to follow the storyline of the film. The protagonist is an OC. Hope you enjoy the story. **:)**

 **Star Wars**

 **Legend of the Heroes**

 _ **Chapter 1 - The old storyteller**_

The young man walked slowly amidst the snowy trees of the forest. The cold was shivering but he did not mind much as the black fur he wore gave him protection and he was an experienced hunter. He was only nineteen years old but he had been hunting in that forest since he was thirteen. He was tall and well built, with an athletic and muscular body. Yet he did not look like a savage; instead his face was delicate and handsome, with his short black hair, aquiline nose and green eyes.

His steps were slow and from time to time he looked at the snowy ground to see the footprints of the animal he was hunting; a deer. The deer had been cut off from the group, it seemed, probably because it had been injured, and thus presented an ideal prey for the young man. Ian, for that was the young man's name, had a lot of experience in hunting down animals in this forest. He had learned from the best; his uncle Thomas. In his youth, Thomas was renown in Bliz village for his hunting abilities and for being able to survive in the snowy forest for whole weeks without any help at all. Now, a middle-aged man who had not aged well, he spent most of his time home and let Ian do the hunting.

After following its trail for almost a whole day, Ian could finally see his prey resting besides a frozen brook. The young hunter hid behind a tree, drew his laser blaster and aimed at the deer. For a moment there was utter silence that was suddenly terminated with the sound of blaster being fired. Ian had hit his target; the deer lied dead on the ground. Although he did enjoy hunting, Ian always felt a bit sad the moment he killed his prey. But this was the only skill he had and the only way he and his uncle could survive.

He walked to the deer and grabbed it. With it in his back, he began making his way home. He knew that he would not reach it until the next day, but he hoped to make some of the journey's distance before resting for the night. He was not relaxed at all with his 'victory'. Instead, he was even more alarmed and tensed as he knew that a dead deer could draw any kind of wild beasts to him. Not only that, but the forest was rife with bandits too. Few villagers dared to hunt in this place.

After walking as fast as he could for about an hour, Ian knew that he had to rest for the night. The sky darkened and he could not hope to journey for much longer. He placed down the deer and drew a night light device he had brought with him. He placed it down and activated it to illuminate the surroundings. The light would allow him to see if anyone or anything was approaching him. He then lied down on the snow and rested, with his blaster at his hand and ready to wake up and fire at the slightest sound. Thankfully, no one bothered him that night.

The next day, as soon as the sun appeared on clear blue sky, he woke up, grabbed the deer and continued his journey. By afternoon, he had reached the Bliz village. He headed to the local butcher, Tom, a middle-aged short but muscular man. Ian entered his store, a small wooden building. He found him cutting some meat with his laser knife on his wooden table while watching a hologram program.

"Hello Ian, what have you brought me?", a smiling Tom asked.

"A deer.", Ian nonchalantly replied. He was tired and wanted to go home and rest as soon as possible. "I will sell you half of it for fifty credits."

"Forty boy. Don't push me. My daughter is getting married and I have a lot of spending to do.", Tom replied, still smiling.

"Really? Mary is getting married?", Ian asked, surprised.

"Yup. And I was as surprised as you when I've heard it. I met the lucky guy only yesterday."

"I'm glad to hear the news. And I will take the forty credits."

A few minutes later, Ian left the store with the credits and half the deer. He then headed to his home. As all others houses in this small village, it was a relative small building made of wood. It was a far cry from the tall skyscrapers of Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant _._ Such luxuries and high tech were unknown in the outer regions of space.

He knocked the door of his home and, a few seconds later, uncle Thomas opened the door. Thomas was tall and strong built but his age showed; his face was wrinkled, his hair and beard gray and he coughed from time to time. Yet his smile was radiant and warm. He quickly helped him with the deer he was carrying and greeted him: "Your hunting went well I can see."

"Indeed.", Ian replied. "It took me two days but it was worth it. I have sold half the deer to Tom for forty credits and now we have enough meet for the whole week."

"Good job.", Thomas remarked. "You remind me of myself when I was young, ages ago...", he said and laughed. "You can keep ten credits."

"Thanks."

"Now go and have a good rest. You must be tired."

"I really am.", Ian admitted. "Has anything of interest happened while I was away?"

Thomas thought for a moment and then replied, "Yes. A new storyteller has come to the village. An old man. At night he tells his stories to the villagers who come to listen to him."

"Will check it out tonight.", Ian said. He had always been interested in strange stories about faraway planets and regularly visited storytellers. "What kind of stories does he tells?"

"I believe he tells stories about the Jedi or something like that..."

"Great.", Ian remarked and then walked to his room. His room was really simple, having only a small wooden desk with a small hologram projector on it and a bed. Ian quickly lied on the bed and fell asleep. A few hours later he woke up and dressed casually, letting go of his fur. He washed his faced with cold water and walked out of his room. He saw his uncle sitting on a chair and reading a holobook.

"What are you reading?", Ian inquired.

"A mystery novel. It is quite interesting. Once I finish it, you may want to read it too."

"Well, I will be going out", Ian, smiling, said. "Good reading."

"Have fun!"

Ian went to the tent of the storyteller. The old man had camped in a tent a few minutes of walk outside the village. When Ian arrived there, he saw that the old man was surrounded by old men and small children who had gathered to listen to his stories. The old storyteller was sitting besides a fire. He was wearing a black robe and his face was hooded but illuminated by the fire; Ian could see that the man was was bearded and had a few wrinkles on his face. He looked like an old sorcerer of the stories Ian had been listening to when he was a child.

"Once upon a time, the evil Empire ruled the galaxy with an iron fist.", the man said. "The Emperor was wicked and oppressed the people, so a few brave men and women formed a rebel alliance with the goal of overthrowing him. The Emperor dispatched his enforcer, the fierce Darth Vader, to find the base of the rebels. Darth Vader was a sorcerer of old times with magical abilities that made him the most fearsome man of the Empire. Vader captured Princess Leia, one of the leaders of the rebels, but she was rescued by a young farm boy from the outer regions; Luke Skywalker. That boy was a simple man like you and had no idea that one day he would become a fighter for the rebels. In his task of saving the Princess, he had the help of smuggler, Han Solo, and his Wookie friend, Chewbacca, and had an old Jedi Master as his mentor; Ben Kenobi."

The story had caught the interest of everyone listening to it; especially the children who were enthralled to hear the story of the young Luke fighting against the evil Empire. Ian too was enamored by the story and it was as if the events the old man was describingwere unfolding before him. When the storyteller told of Kenobi's death, many in the audience cried while when he told of Luke's blowing up of the Death Star, the audience, especially the children, cheered. The old man told of all the struggles Luke and his friend underwent until the defeat of the Empire. He then began talking about how Luke was training a new generation of Jedi Knights.

"Luke hoped that the young men and women he was training in his academy would safeguard the new Republic and uphold peace and justice like the Jedi did in the old Republic. Alas, it was not to be so. One pupil of his, corrupted by the dark side of the Force, turned on his Master and fellow pupils. He allied with the forces of evil and attacked the academy, massacring everyone who resisted him and hunting down and destroying the new Jedi order. History repeated itself. Thus Luke was once again the last of the Jedi. It is not known what happened to him, but it is said that he wanders across the galaxy, searching for the destined one to destroy the First Order."

It was then when Ian noticed that the storyteller was looking at him. Their eyes met and Ian felt a bit awkward. As the story had ended anyway, he decided to leave. As he was walking back to the village, he was sensing that something was going wrong. It was as someone was following him. He turned around and saw the old storyteller following him. He walked faster but noticed that the storyteller too fastened his pace. So, he decided to go talk to him.

"Why are you following me?", Ian asked while preparing for any outcome.

"No need to get alarmed.", the storyteller said with a warm smile on his face. "I am just an old man, I cannot hurt you. I just want to talk with you."

"Why so?", Ian inquired, still suspicious of the old man and not letting his guard down.

"You seem to be a man of destiny."

At this point, Ian laughed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am just a hunter. I am not special. I'm just an ordinary villager in a place in the outer regions."

"Luke too was just an ordinary young man in a faraway planet.", the old man reminded him. "Believe me, I know when someone is special and you are a special person. You have powers you cannot even imagine."

Ian was no longer alarmed. He realized that the storyteller was just a crazy senile old man. Smiling, he replied, "Look, you are a great storyteller and you seem to be a good man, but I have no interest in what you say. The only thing special in me is that I am a good hunter and the only power I have is that of good aiming."

The old man sighed. He was clearly disappointed with Ian's unwillingness to believe in him. But he was not ready to give up yet. "I can prove you that I am not mad and that I speak the truth. At midnight, come to my tent and I will show you."

Wanting to finish this conversation and return home, Ian pretended that he was accepting the invitation. "I will surely come."

He then turned around and continued his journey back home. It was already late night and Ian wanted to have a good sleep after two days in the forest hunting. Even though he had slept for a few hours at home, it was not enough rest after all the hardships he had to endure in the snowy forest. Ian was lost in his thoughts when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and heard some people chatting. He saw that before him were three people, walking to the opposite direction. The one in the middle was surely a very rich person and had the looks of an aristocrat; tall, thin, handsome, blond and with blue eyes and wearing expensive clothesmade of silk; a red shirt and black trousers. He was for sure someone from another planet as no one in this place was that rich. On his left was another man, one that looked more ordinary. A black man with short black hair and wearing a brown jacket, black shirt and trousers. Although he did not seem as rich as the first man, he was handsome and fit nonetheless. He had the looks of a fighter. The third person, in the right, was a woman who immediately caught Ian's interest. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin. She was athletic and beautiful.

The man in the middle was walking pretty fast and had an air of arrogance in him. As he was walking very fast, he bumped onto Ian and pushed him down. "Watch where you are going!", Ian protested.

The man turned around and gave an angry look to Ian. "You are not fit to be my servant, let alone tell me what to do!"

"James!", the woman protested while the other man walked forward and helped Ian get up. "My name is Finn", he said, "sorry for our friend. He is a bit arrogant."

"Its okay.", Ian replied, in no mood to pick up a fight.

"My name is Rey.", the woman said.

"And mine is James.", the rich man said, with a tone of sarcasm in his voice. "Now, can we get the hell out of here? We have important business to do!"

Ian sure was pissed off with the attitude of Jamesbut seeing that his two friends were nice persons, he decided not to pursue the matter and set off for home. As he left them behind, Ian sighed and remarked, "what a bastard!". But his initial anger soon gave way to curiosity. Who were those people and why had they come to this small and unimportant village?

Ian had no idea and he was too tired to think about it. As soon as he returned home, he saw that his uncle was already in bed sleeping and decided to do the same. He went to his room and lied on his bed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Suddenly, he saw the old storyteller before him saying, "You have promised to come to me when it is midnight. Will you go back on your promise?"

Ian was so scared that his face became pale white and he was shivering. "What are you doing in my room?", he shouted. The old man did not reply but he approached him silently. Ian shouted and realized that it was all a dream; a nightmare. In no mood to sleep, he woke up and washed his face with cold water. 'This old man is not an ordinary person', he thought, 'I am sure of that. I must go and meet him.'

Ian was breathing fast and trembling. He was more tensed than even when he was at the forest. He rushed out of the room and the house and headed for the tent of the old man. It was not yet midnight but he could not wait until then. Although it was dark and no one was walking outside, Ian was not much scared by it as he had gotten used to being alone in the dark when he was hunting in the forest.

When Ian finally reached the storyteller's tent, he saw that the old man was alone there, sitting by the fire and waiting. As soon as he saw Ian, he smiled. Ian smiled back, although his smile was a bit awkward. "Hi.", Ian said. "So...I came. Maybe I am going crazy, but I was hearing your voice and seeing you in my sleep, so I decided to come."

The old man laughed. "It is nothing to be afraid of.", he assured him. "You are just discovering your powers."

"What powers?", Ian asked, this time taking the man seriously.

The storyteller did not reply. Instead he waved his hand and a rock got up from the ground. Ian could not believe in his eyes. It was as if the stone was flying. It was surely the work of magic, he thought. He was awed and his mouth was wide open with amazement. "How...how did you do that?"

The storyteller smiled. "I can teach you how to do this. You are special. You may think that you are just an ordinary person with a boring and monotonous life stuck on a planet on the far reaches of the universe, but you are a man of destiny, someone who will impact the wholegalaxy. I understand how you may feel because I've been in your position when I was young."

Ian could relate with what the old man was describing. "You are not really a storyteller, right?"

The old man nodded in agreement.

"So, who are you?"

"Luke Skywalker!"

"Impossible!", Ian said. "Impossible...Luke Skywalker has been missing for years. You told me so."

"Search your feelings, you know that I am saying the truth."

"Wow!", Ian exclaimed. "You are the last of the Jedi?"

"I used to be the last.", Luke replied. "Now I hope that there is going to be another Jedi."

Luke pointed at him. Ian could not believe what he was hearing. He slapped himself to make sure that he was not dreaming. "I...can...be a Jedi?"

"It is your destiny to become a Jedi, and a great one too. You will destroy the First Order. That is the prophecy of the ancient Jedi in the first Jedi temple. I have been searching for you across the outer regions for almost two years."

Ian was enthralledfor a moment, but he then remembered his uncle and the work he had to do here. He sighed and said, "Well, I am honored for this, but I am not sure that I am the right person. I have my uncle to take care of and I have to hunt for him."

"Believe me, I know how you feel. When Ben Kenobi wanted to recruit me, I too had my doubts. I had my uncle and aunt to take care and work to do at home. But destiny cannot be ignored. You have been gifted with extraordinary powers and it is your duty to use them for good. As for your uncle..."

Luke gave a small purse to Ian. Ian opened it and saw that it had a thousand credits, enough for his uncle to live a comfortable life.

Ian smiled. "Look, I thank you for your help. I will go talk with my uncle and will tell you my decision next morning."

"Good. But you must not delay your decision for your powers have awakened and this means that the forces of evil will sense your presence here sooner or later."

"What?!", Ian barked. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"Unfortunately not. The more you stay here, the more you endanger your loved ones. The First Order wants to hunt down all force users who oppose them. They will either kill you or, even worse, break you and make you one of them; an agent of evil."

"Then what choice am I supposed to make?!", Ian, enraged with Luke, inquired. "You essentially give me no choice!"

"I am not the one who caused this to happen. You will have eventually discovered on your own your powers and the First Order would have eventually found out aboutyou."

Ian calmed down a bit and apologized to Luke. "Sorry for my outburst but too many things have changed for me in those few minutes and I...I have not been able to accept all of them at once. I just need some time alone to think."

Luke placed his hand on Ian's shoulder and said, "I know you are strong and will not crumble. I understand that your life has been turned upside down. But you must not be afraid. You will have my support and I will do my best to help you."

"Thanks...I suppose.", Ian said and walked back to the village. While strolling in the village's street, he was trying to relax and recollect himself. Suddenly, he saw the three people he had seen earlier heading for the storyteller's tent. He quickly hid in an alley. Once they had passed before him, he silently began following them. As a hunter, he knew only too well the skill of following someone and as such the James, Rey and Finn hadn't noticed him. The three companions finally reached Luke's tent. James walked forward and introduced himself to Luke: "I am James Astrani, the Duke of Astrania. Those behind me are Rey and Finn."

Luke smiled. "What can an old storyteller like me do for a Duke like you?"

"I've been searching for a person who is said to have been at the first Jedi temple and has been missing for years; Luke Skywalker."


	2. The young Duke

Thanks Michael for the review.

 _ **Chapter 2 - The young Duke**_

Ian's heart beat fast when he heard James utteringLuke's name. Luke had warned him that his enemies would be here sooner or later; was this young Duke one of his enemies? Ian still had his doubts about it as Finn and Rey, unlike the arrogant rich man, seemed like good people. 'But why would he besearchingfor Luke if he is not one of the First Order?', he wondered.

It was at that moment that it began snowing. The village was already covered in snowand this snowstorm added yet another layer of snow, painting everything in the village white. The wind also got colder and stronger. Ian shivered; although he was used to being in cold places, this time he did not wear his fur to protect him from cold. Yet he ignored the chillness he felt and focused entirely on Luke and James.

"I am just an old storyteller", Luke replied. "How am I supposed to know anything about Luke Skywalker aside from the stories I've heard about him and which I tell to the children?"

The Duke smiled. "I'm pretty sure that you know more about Luke Skywalker than you are telling me."

He then drew a laser blaster and aimed at Luke. Finn and Rey, surprised that their companion would take such a drastic measure, shouted in unison, "No!". James was about to press the trigger and fire at the old man; if he was Luke Skywalker, as he suspected, he would find a way to either dodge or deflect the laser shot. If he was just a storyteller, he would be killed, but that was of no concern to James; he was willing to do whatever was necessary to find out where Luke was. Ian rushed forward and grabbed from behind James; his speed and ferocity were almost superhuman. It was the result of many years of hardship in the snowy forest. The grab was strong; it was as if Ian was grabbing a deer he had killed and which he had to take away before any wild beast smelled it and came for it. Ian had never thought that this grabbing technique would be used on a human.

"Ah!", the Duke barked in pain and accidentally triggered his blaster; its laser hit Luke's tent instead of Luke. Enraged, trembling in anger and breathing heavily, James used all his strength in a futile attempt to free himself from Ian's grab. Alas, Ian was too strong for him. Although by no means a weakling, James was simply not as tough as Ian; when Ian was hunting for whole days with minimal supplies, James was swimming in his pool. When Ian was fighting for his life against wild beasts, James was enjoying himself with friends in bars. As such, he did not have the prowess to free himself from Ian.

But underestimating James would be a mistake. Berserk with anger, he bit ferociously Ian's arm; Ian cried out in pain and let go of the Duke. His right arm was bleeding profoundly. Before he could do anything, James punched him on the face. Ian spitted blood and felt dizzy. "Is this all you've got!?", James shouted. Finn attempted to get between them and stop the fight, but James pushed him away. How could a Duke accept being beaten and insulted by a lowly peasant? Accepting such behavior would go against all of James' values. Luke, meanwhile, was silently watching the fight, wanting to see how Ian would react in a life and death situation.

Ian charged forward, screaming, and fell upon James. The two men were rolling on the ground and wrestling. At one point, James punched with such furyIan's face, that Ian almost fainted. James used this chance toquickly get upand rushed to find his blaster. It had fallen on the ground when Ian had initially grabbed himand James now quickly found it. He aimed at Ian with the blaster and, smiling, said, "You attacked the wrong person, kid."

Ian froze. This moment lasted for only a second and yet it seemed to himlike centuries. All of his life, his good and bad memories, his friends and rivals, passed before Ian's eyes. He felt weak, vulnerable. There was cold sweat on his forehead. He was afraid. He had survived blizzards, hunger and wild animals, and yet he would be killed so easily, so quickly, by a blaster. His heart beat faster than a clock, his breath was heavy.

Suddenly, Ianfelt an urge to scream. He screamed on top of his lung and the loud sound he unleashed could be heard from far way. A wave of energy sweptthe area andall thosearound him, Luke, James, Finn and Rey, were pushed back. Exhausted and sweating, Ian fell on his knees. Trembling, he could not hear anything; it was as if he had gone deaf. He could only feel a sense of coldness more chilling than all the blizzards he had experienced. Finally, he collapsed on the ground and lost his consciousness.

Luke was the first to got up and rushed to Ian. He placed his hand on his forehead and examined him; he was still alive but terribly exhausted and weak. He had finally unleashed his powers as Luke wanted him to do. It was then when he realized that someone was walking towards him; James. He too was tired and bleeding, but he would not give up. "So, are you Luke Skywalker?", he asked.

"What if I am?", Luke replied.

The young Duke smirked. "I am on a mission on behalf of my late father. He had spend his final years searching desperately for you, wanting to persuade you to return from your self-imposed exile and help the Republic against the First Order. During one of his explorations, he got sick. On his deathbed, he asked me to find you and complete his mission."

Luke sighed."Too bad he had to die. He was good man...a good man."

Although James attempted to maintain his calm stature, Luke could see a few tears dropping from his eyes. "He sure was..."

"So, how did you find me?"

It was at that moment when Finn and Rey came towards them. James pointed at them and smiling he said, "Thanks to them. At first I thought that the First Order had gotten the map with your location, but those two and a small droid named BB-8 managed to escape Jakku with the map. I took over their vessel, an old smuggling ship, soon after and then we reached the first Jedi temple. There we found out the prophesy inscripted on the ancient tablets and began searching the outer regions for you; thankfully, we were lucky and we found you on the first planet we visited."

Luke examined carefully Finn and Rey. Finn was about to greet him and apologize for the way James had treated him, but, to Finn's frustration, Luke bypassed him and talked to Rey: "You come from Jakku?", Luke inquired.

"Yes...", was the awkward reply of Rey. She did not know why, but she felt as if she knew this man, as she had seen him somewhere before.

"You were born there?"

"No. I was abandoned there by my family."

Rey did not remember her parents. She far too young when they abandoned her on Jakku. The only thing she remembered was their spaceship leaving the planet's atmosphere while Unkar Plutt, the onefor whom she was working until a few weeks ago, was grabbing her hand. She always wished that she could remember something more but no matter how hard she tried, she could not recollect any other memories from that early age.

As always when her parents were being mentioned, Rey was lost in her thoughts for a moment. Her thoughts returned back to where she was only after Luke asked her yet another question: "Do you remember anything about your parents?"

"No.", she replied. Rey could not understand why this old Jedi Master was showing such curiosity for her background; she wasn't the only child left behind by her parents. "Why are you asking me all those questions?", she asked.

"I can feel that the Force is strong with you."

"The Force?"

Rey had heard that the Jedi had almost magical abilities and that they used something called the Force, but it had never been explained to her. Rey's question took Luke back to the timewhen he was a young man and was as ignorant as Rey of the ways ofForce. It was Kenobi who had first explained it to him and now he repeated his exact words.

"The Force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."

Luke paused for a moment to think. He then said to Rey, "you and Finn should take Ian to your ship and see that he gets some rest. We will have to leave this place as soon as possible. I am sure that the First Order will have tracked your vessel when you escaped from Jakku and as such it will not be long before they come here.I will be going to meet his uncle."

"What about me?", James asked, somewhat annoyed that Luke had left him out of his plans.

"You should follow Rey and Finn and get some rest too. You have been injured in the fight; not as much as Ian, but you still need some rest."

"Alright...", James replied. "But let me ask you one question; why do we need to bring this villager to our ship?"

"Haven't you read the prophesy?", Luke said and hastily left for the village, leaving James to think upon that phrase.

"By the way, our ship is a few miles to the north of the village!", James shouted. He hoped that Luke had listened to him. He then thought again about what Luke had said. 'What is that supposed to mean?', James wondered in his thoughts. 'Is this guy the chosen one to destroy the First Order?'

It did not take long for Luke to find out Ian's residence after arriving to the village. He knocked the wooden door and waited for a moment. A frail voice was heard from inside the house asking, "who is it?"

"Are you Thomas, Ian's uncle?", Luke said.

"Yes. That's who I am."

"I want to talk to you about your nephew. May I come in?"

Thomas sighed. Ian always returned early back home, so the fact that he was out so late in the night and someone was coming to talk to him about Ian meant that he was surely in trouble. He opened the door and let Luke come in. Luke examined the place and saw how hard life was in a remote village like this.

"Is my nephew in trouble?", Thomas asked. Before Luke could reply, Thomas quickly added, "And I told him not to stay out late at night in the village and not cause any trouble!"

"Your nephew is indeed in trouble.", Luke replied. "But he is also a very gifted young man. He is strong in the Force and he can become a Jedi."

Thomas snorted. "And what you know of the Force? Aren't you just a storyteller?"

Luke closed his eyes and waved his hand. Suddenly, to Thomas' awe, the room's table levitated before his very eyes. Thomas had heard stories about the Jedi and their sorcerer ways but could have never imagined that he would meet one in person. "It is true then the saying 'Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon'.", Thomas said. "Those who are truly powerful hide their skills and pretend to be ordinary. I must apologize to you, Master Jedi."

"No need.", was Luke's reply. "I am the one who must apologize for taking away your nephew. But he has a great destiny before him and has the duty to use his powers to help restore peace in the Galaxy."

Thomas sighed. He breathed heavily and Luke could see tears in his eyes. "I love my nephew as if he were my own son and I will miss him more than you can imagine, but I agree with you. He does not have a bright future in the village. The best he can hope to is to be a successful hunter. He will endanger his life all the time just in order to survive and he will end up a lonely old man like I am. But if he follows you, he can becomea man of destiny."

"I am grateful that you can understand this.", Luke said. "Do not worry. I will do my best to take care of him and I will not let him be harmed."

He then handed to Thomas a purse. The old uncle opened it up and saw that it was full with credits, enough for him to survive for a very long time. He appreciated Luke's gesture but he could not accept such a large amount of money. "I thank you but I cannot accept this. It is too generous."

"No, please keep it. How am I supposed to face Ian if I do not help you survive without him? If I do not give you the purse, Ian will always worry about you and will not be able to focus on his Jedi training."

Thomas realized that Luke was speaking the truth. So, with heavy heart, he accepted the purse. "Wait for a moment", he said. He went to the kitchen and returned a minute later with a jar of wine and two cups. "I do not have anything to thank you for your generosity but please accept a cup of wine. It is very old and one of the best in the village."

Luke smiled. "Of course I will."

Thomas filled the two cups and gave one to Luke. He then raised his cup and shouted, "cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The two old men drank the wine and laughed as if they were old friends despite the fact that they knew each only for a few minutes. Meanwhile, as they were drinking, in the Millennium Falcon, the ship with which the three companions had come to Briz village, Rey and Finn were taking care of Ian. The Millennium Falcon was stationed a few miles outsideof the village. Rey and Finn had carried Ian, who was still unconscious, all the way to the ship and thenlaid him on one of the beds in the ship's quarters.

Ian was beginning to regain his consciousness. He still hadn't opened his eyes but he was coughing. "Bring some water.", Rey said to Finn and he rushed to do so. As James was with them, Finn felt a bit responsible for James' behavior and how he injured Ian.

Ian felt a chilling cold penetrating him and he was shivering. He could not feel any part of his body andwas sure that he had died. He could hear a female voice talking but he could not understand what she was saying. With difficulty he opened his eyes and saw Rey. "You...you...are Rey right?". He hoped that he remembered correctly her name.

"Yes.", Rey quickly replied. "Do not talk. You need to rest. You have been injured badly."

"Thanks for taking care of me...", Ian said before coughing. Thankfully it was then when Finn arrived with a cup of water and he gave it to him. Ian drank it as fast he could; he was quite thirsty after such a terrible fight with James. Ian suddenly remembered Luke and asked, "Where is Luke?"

"He is alright.", Rey assured him. "We are not your enemies."

It was at that moment thatJames walked into the quarters. Ian gave an angry look at him and he was barely able to keep himself from attacking him. James was somewhat more calm. He said, "I am here to apologize. It was wrong of me to pick up a fight with you."

"Would you still have apologized to him if he was not the chosen one of the prophesies?", Finn asked.

James, calm and smiling, replied. "To be honest, no. I am a Duke. I cannot apol-". James realized that his rant was going to backfire and instead said,"I know that sometimes I am a bit arrogant, but that is the way I grew up and those are the values instilled to me. I will try to be lessarrogant next time."

Ian sighed. He still disliked James but decided to give him one more chance. "Alright. Apology accepted."

* * *

Luke set off from Ian's home and began making his way tothe Millennium Falcon. Suddenly, from a dark alley, a hooded man wearing a long black robe charged at him with a laser knife. Luke was barely able to dodge the attack. "Who are you?", he shouted. Instead of replying, the assassin attempted once more to stab Luke, but this time Luke forced pushed himback.

"He must surely be from the First Order.", he remarked. "That means that they must have followed James and his friends here, which means that...No!"

Luke rushed forward as fast as he could. To his disappointment, he could hear the sound of ships. He gazed at the night sky and saw First Order transport vessels landing near the village. "Damn!"

Back in the Millennium Falcon, the party could hear the sound of ships landing. Finn rushed to the cockpit as fast as he could and saw that First Order transport vessels had landed just besides the Millennium Falcon and Stormtroopers were rushing out of them and aiming with their blasters at the ship. "Damn!", he shouted. He kicked the cockpit's machinery in rage and barked, "The First Order is here!"

"What are we supposed to do?", Rey shouted back. Meanwhile, James too rushed to the cockpit. He sat on the pilot's sitand pulled a lever.

"What are you doing?", Finn asked him.

"We will not survive a direct attack from all those Stormtroopers! We have to leave."

"What about Luke? Are we not supposed to have made all this journey for him? How can we leave him behind?"

James laughed. "Do not worry. I have everything under control. Now please, man the turret and fire at the Stormtroopers."

In the quarters Ian was worried sick and his face was ashen white. He was less afraid about himself and more about his uncle and the rest of the villagers. "I need to go back to the village!", he said. "I cannot let my uncle die."

"He will not.", Rey assured him. "They are after you and Luke, not your uncle. If we escape, they will not waste their time harming the villagers. Now rest and do not worry about this. You should not exhaust yourself."

Ian was still terribly worried and his heart beat fast, but he followed Rey's advice and tried to ignore what was happening around him and rest. At the same time, Finn was firing with the ship's turret at the Stormtroopers, blowing them up and shaking the ground with huge explosions. The fire that engulfed the field and the loud sounds woke up everyone in the village, who began screaming and panicking.

James was flying the Millennium Falcon above the village and attempted to locate Luke. He finally found him fighting with his lightsaber against dark-hooded assassins. He was killing them with ease but he was gradually being overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. James brought the Millennium Falcon at close distance to the ground and lowered its opening hatch. Luke, seeing this, used the Force to levitate and jump high, landing at the opening hatch and getting inside the ship. With Luke aboard, James turned around the Millennium Falcon and began making his way out of the atmosphere. When the Millennium Falcon finally made its way out to space, it was confronted with three Star Destroyers waiting for it.

"Great!", James sarcastically said. "That's exactly what we needed; Star Destroyers blocking our way."

Meanwhile Luke had made his way to the cockpit. "Why don't you use lightspeed to escape?"

"I need to set some coordinates first. Where are we going?"

Luke thought for a moment. "Nar Shaddaa."

"Alright.", James replied and quickly set the coordinates on the navicomputer. "That's it; now or never. Punch it!". He pressed a button, pulled another lever and the ship suddenly lurched forward into hyperspace, escaping the First Order.


	3. A strange dream

Thanks Gu Long, Capsicle0199 and John for the review.

 _ **Chapter 3 -** **A strange dream**_

Darkness. A mist surrounded everything. Ian could barely see where he was walking. It seemed as if he was trapped and caged like a wild animal. No matter where he headed, he could see no glimpse of light. There was cold sweat on his forehead and he was breathing heavily. His heart beat fast and his face was ashen white. He was alone. Blinded. Afraid.

"Luke?", he asked. "Rey? Finn? James?"

No matter how hard he shouted, no onecould hear him. Suddenly, a lone figure appeared from amidst the mist; the man was wearing a long black robe and a dark hood hid his face. Ian could see from his hands, metallic and with long needle like claws, that this man was not an ordinary one. He could see sparks fly in his hands.

Ian prepared for a fight and asked, "Who are you?". He got no reply. Instead, the man walked slowly towards him. Ian, trembling in fear, attempted to retreat but lightening coming out from the man's hands struck him. Ian was sure that he was going to die, but suddenly realized that he was lying on a bed in the Millennium Falcon's quarters and that all of this was just a bad dream.

"Thankfully it was just a dream.", he said. Although he had rested, emotionally he was still exhausted. Too many changes had been made to his life in just one day and he felt overwhelmed.

"Uncle!", he instinctively shouted. He then remembered that he had left behind his uncle in Bliz village. He missed him. When he was living with him in the village, he always wanted to leave that place and wander the galaxy, seeing strangeplaces, meeting newpeople, tasting exotic food. He could have never foreseen back then how much he would miss his home and his uncle. It is true that only when you lose something, you realize its importance.

Ian could still remember the warm smile of his uncle greeting himwhen he woke up, how they ate breakfast together and spoke about what they would do next. The food was not much tasty, but it was the feeling of warmness and family that made morning breakfast great, although only now did Ian realize how great something which he considered a pleasant but rather unimportant routine was.

Now, he felt as if he was all alone. Luke, Rey, Finn and James; he had all met them just a day ago. He sighed and remarked, "I must be strong. I have to be. I have been in tougher situations before."

That was only partially truth; he had to face wild beasts, blizzards, lack of food, terrible injuries but the task he had undertaken right now was something else entirely. He had to leave behind the only place he knew, learn the mysteriousways of the Force and battle against the First Order and theforces of evil. If someone had told him about this a few days ago, he would have laughed him off as crazy. But now this madness was his new life.

He got up from his bed and looked around. He sawthaton a small desk there was a small cup with water. He drank some of it and used the rest to wash his face. He walked out of the quarters and saw Luke who, smiling, greeted him. "Good morning Ian. How are you? You must be quite tired."

"Yes...", Ian replied. "Why did I collapse yesterday? What happened? I just remember that I had a fight with James and suddenly collapsed."

"Well, it seems that you unleashed a Force wave. You are beginning to discover your powers."

Ian smirked. "That means that whenever I want, I can now use the Force?"

Luke laughed. "No. Not yet, at least."

He then said in a more serious tone, "You first need to hone your skills and tame this great force inside you, to learn how to use it when you want to do so and while being calm. Also, the Force is not to be used for trivial reasons. The Jedi use the Force only for knowledge and self-defense, never for attack or for selfish reasons. Using the Force to fulfill your desires and allowing hatred and anger to overtake you will lead you to the dark side. And once you go down this path, it will forever dominate your destiny and you will be an agent of evil."

"Like Kylo Ren in your story...", Ian remarked.

"Indeed. Once, he was known as Ben and was a promising young man with noble desires. But he allowed visions of grandeur, hatred and his ambition to cloud his judgment and followed the path of evil. Now he is no more than a pawn of the dark side."

As Ian was thinking about what Luke had said, Finn appeared and greeted both of them. "Hello Master Luke. Hi Ian, how are you?"

"I am better.", Ian replied. "Thanks for looking after me when I was injured."

"Its nothing.", Finn remarked.

"You are with the resistance?", Luke asked Finn, still curious about how he managed to get BB-8 out of Jakku.

Finn put on an awkward smile. He had told to Rey and, later on, to James that he was a member of the resistance. He still felt ashamed of the fact that he was once a Stromtrooper of the First Order. Finn attempted to hide his anxiousness and quickly replied, "Well, yes, I am. I am with the resistance."

"You've been in many battles?", Ian inquired.

"Yes. I have seen much combat.", Finn lied. In reality, he had only been in one battle; that of Jakku when Kylo Ren was searching for BB-8. "I've had to see friends die and I almost was killed."

Although Luke was not entire convinced of Finn's story, he decided to let it go. Finn had proved that he had a noble heart and sincerely wanted to help them in their cause. Everyone has secrets that they want to keep for themselves, Luke thought. He too had secrets best let unknown. "So, where is Rey?"

"She is with BB-8 in one of the quarters.", Finn replied.

"Wait for me.", Luke said to Ian and a moment later he returned with three medium sized wooden staffs in his hands. "Come with me.", he said andthey went on to find Rey. They found her talking to BB-8 in one of the quarters. Ian smiled when he saw the droid: it looked like a ball. It had a dome head and was mostly white, with some silver and orange on its body.

"Hello.", a smiling Rey said to both.

Ian smiled back but before he could say anything, Luke spoke. "If you are to stop the First Order, you must begin you training in the ways of the Force. You are both very gifted with the Force and have great potential but you must learn discipline and how to tame that power you have and use it for good."

"I can become a Jedi?", Rey asked. When she was in Jakku, she heard all the time stories about those sorcerers. When she was still a child, an old man used to gather the kids and tell them stories about the exploits of those sorcerers during the Clone Wars; he used to tell them about Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu and others. Those stories had amazed all of them but when she grew up, she believed that those were just travelers' tales and myths.

"Yes. But being a Jedi does not mean excitement, adventure and glory. A Jedi those things he seeks not."

Luke could not help but smile for a moment, realizing how much his words resembled those of Master Yoda. This idealist, impatient youth had become a mature and wise Master. "But enough with theory. Its time for practice."

He threw one wooden stuff to Rey and one to Ian. Rey grabbed it midair while Ian was hit by it, as he was not paying much attention and was lost in his thoughts. "Always focus on where you are!", Luke shouted.

"Yes...", Ian said and was about to grab the staff from the ground when Luke hit him in the stomach with his staff.

"Too slow."

Rey laughed. She found the fact that Luke was beating Ian so easily funny. Suddenly Luke's staff hit her back and caused her to fall on the ground. "Focus on the battle!", Luke barked.

"I was not expecting you to attack me.", Rey protested. "You were attacking Luke."

"Rule number one: always be on alert. You cannot predict what the enemy will do and when he will attack, so never let your guard down. If I was a real enemy, you would be dead by now."

Even as Luke was talking, Ian had grabbed his staff and was charging at him from behind his back. Luke went quickly to the right, letting Ian pass before him and slam on the wall. "You were too fast this time. Charging so fast means that you have littletime to see and realize what the enemy is up to. You must be fast enough to strike the enemy and slow enough to be able to have a clue about what happens around you. You do not charge like a wild bull."

It was then when Rey attacked. She pretended to attack Luke's head and midway retreated by a step and changed the direction of the staff to Luke's chest. Luke was of course able to see through this deception and quickly blocked Rey's staff with his own, but he smirked. "Good. That was a good attack.", he remarked. "That's enough combat training for now. You should now let go of your staff, sit on the ground and empty your mind of all thoughts."

Ian and Rey did so. After this intensive and exhausting training, they thought that this meditation task would be easy; but they were terribly wrong. Neither of them could empty their mind of all thoughts. Ian was constantly thinking about his time back home and so did Rey, thinking about her life in Jakku. Although it sounded easy in theory, being in peace and not thinking about anything was an almost impossible task, far more difficult than fighting with the staff. That's the reason why the Jedi of the old Republic spend so much time trying to tame their emotions and achieving inner peace compared to the time they spend practicing their lightsaber techniques.

"To find inner peace and empty your mind of all thoughts, you must first think of a place which you like and which relaxes you.", Luke said. "This will allow you to calm down and eventually let go of worldly affairs."

Rey thought of an island in the middle of a huge ocean, which she was always seeing in her dreams. Ian, on the other hand, thought of the snowy forest where had been hunting. Both of them relaxed and gradually they emptied their mind of all thoughts. Both of them could sense a powerful source of energy calling for them. They could also hear sounds from all over the ship; James and Finn chatting, the sound of the engine, BB-8 moving around. As time passed, they could sense the warmness of the starts and the vast emptiness and coldness of space. Without themrealizing it, objects in the room began levitating.

Luke was smiling. His students were making their first steps into a wider world. They were beginning to learn how to use the Force and realize its vastness and power. "Everything, living or not, has the Force in it. You can feel it in the people here, the machines, the engine, even the metallic walls and doors. When you sense the vastness of the universe and the Force, only then do you realize that we are like dust in a beach, water in the ocean. Yet even though we are but a tiny part of this universe, we all play a part in the shaping of events and some of us can even cause momentous changes."

Suddenly, Ian felt a terrible coldness. Chillness. Darkness. Loneliness. His heart began beating fast. He felt trapped, just like when he had seen that dream about the strange hooded man.

"Ian..."

Someone was calling his name. Ian could clearly hear this, even though the sound was faint and the voice weak and soft.

"Ian!"

Ian was confused. That voice belonged to neither Luke nor Rey, nor did it belong to Finn or James. 'This must be a dream', he thought. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness before him; Rey, Luke, even the room, everything had disappeared. "What?!", he shouted. "Where are you?!"

"Ian!", the voice barked. This time Ian saw someone: the dark hooded man he had earlier seen in his dream. The man was approaching him. Ian could see sparks fly in his hands. "Your friends have been captured, you are all alone and now, young Jedi, you will die..."

A spark of lightening appeared on the man's hands and suddenly that lightening struck Ian. The pain was excruciating and he fell on the ground, semiconscious and trembling in pain. "There is no escape...", the man remarked and Ian screamed in pain. He then realized that all of this was just another dream and that he was still in the quarters with Rey and Luke.

Hearing his scream, Rey suddenly woke up from her meditation and Luke asked, "What happened?"

Ian, still trembling and with his face pale, replied, "I… Nothing. Just a dream, I suppose."

"It was not a dream.", Luke said. "The Force has the power to allow you to see the past, old friends or even the future. Your so called dream may have been a vision which the Force allowed you to see."

"This was the future?", Ian asked. This made him even more anxious; he now knew that his friends would be captured, possibly killed, by a dark hooded man and that this man would kill him too. "That means that we are in danger!"

Luke smiled. "The future is not set in stone. Nothing is set beforehand. The Force only warns you of a possible future. Whether this will come true, it all depends on you."

"What did you see?", Rey asked, curious about that vision.

"I was in a dark room and a strange man clad in black said that he had captured all of you and then began striking with me with some kind of lightening. I was helpless against him."

"Weird.", Rey remarked. "A few moments ago I also saw for a second the image of a man clad in black."

"Weird indeed.", Luke said. "It is no coincidence that you saw the same figure as Ian. But you did not see a vision, only an image. That means that what happened was that you sensed was Ian was thinking because his thoughts were too strong about this person."

"How is this possible?", Ian inquired.

"Well, that's what the Jedi of the old Republic called Force bond, but few people managed to form such a bond in such a short time. Usually, it was formed between a Master and an apprentice."

"So, what is this Force bond?", Rey asked.

"It is a link between two force-sensitives that allows them to influence one an another. If one feels something strongly, the other too gets a glimpse of that thought. If one feels excruciating pain, so does the other. But one's will can also strengthen the other. I do not know how you managed to form such a bond in such a short time, but it is both a bless and a scourge."

Both Ian and Rey remained silent for a moment. Then, Ian spoke. "So…if one of use dies in battle, then the other…"

"Will most likely die.", Luke replied. "This certainly complicates things."

"Can a Force bond be cut?"

"I do not believe it has happened before, but I do not think that it is impossible either. The ancient Jedi were said to have had a technique designed to cut a Force bond, but such knowledge has been lost for hundreds of years."

An alarm ringed and the three force users heard James shouting, "We've reached Nar Shaddaa!".

Luke, smiling, said, "Well, we have a lot to do, so I say that we drop this subject and focus on the challenges ahead."

"What exactly are we doing in Nar Shaddaa?", Rey asked.

"I have to meet an old friend who has valuable secrets that could help us in the struggle against the First Order. Plus, we can lay low for a while and escape from the First Order's attention. The entire planet of Nar Shaddaa is essentially a huge metropolis. No one will be able to find us here, amidst so many millions of peoples."

He then walked out of the quarters, heading for the cockpit, leaving Rey and Ian alone. He knew that they had to discuss about this Force bond they had. Ian spoke first, "I just want you to know that I will not do anything reckless that will put your life in danger."

"Neither will I.", Rey assured him.

For a moment, there was an awkward silence in the room before James was heard shouting: "Will you come to the cockpit, dammit!"

The two force users headed to the cockpit, where they found James and Finn sitting in the pilot's and co-pilot's seat respectively. The Millennium Falcon had entered the planet's atmosphere and James asked, "Where are we landing?"

"In dockyard 99.", Luke replied. "It is in blue sector. The fee for landing is cheap too."

"Blue sector? That reminds me of something...", Finn murmured.

"The blue sector is where most poor people and immigrants live.", Luke said. "It is a place of suffering where criminal gangs rule and tyrannize the people. Even before the war, it was a terrible place to live, but now, with the Republic focusing on beating the First Order, the gangs have no one to oppose them. They fight each other for control of the city and steal anything of value the people have."

"Then why have come to this filthy place?", James, with his usual arrogance, said.

"Firstly, because even if the First Order somehow finds out that we are in Nar Shaddaa, I do not expect them to predict that we have come to this dangerous place. Secondly, because a friend of mine lives in this place. A friend I haven't seen in many, many years..."

"Do you trust him?"

"With my own life.", Luke confidently replied. He then turned to Ian and Rey and said, "This will also be a good place for your training. You can meditate in this place and listen to the sounds and sense the feelings of a whole city. It can be an overwhelming experience but one that is invaluable."

The Millennium Falcon landed on Dockyard's 99 landing pad. With a switch, James opened the outer hatch of the ship and then said, "Lets go out."

Luke, Finn, James, Ian and Rey got out of the Millennium Falcon while BB-8 stayed behind in the ship. Both Rey and Ian where overwhelmed with the magnitude of the city; they had never seen so many and so high skyscrapers. Speeders and ships were flying above them in the thousands. To Ian, they reminded him of the wild birds in the snowy forest, but they were far more noisy.

"So, when will the dock's owner arrive?", Finn asked.

"Here is he!", Luke said and pointed at a short fat middle-aged man walking to the landing pad. He was wearing a white shirt that was so dirty that parts of it looked as if they were painted brown and black trousers. He was bald and his face was somewhat ugly, but his most noticeable characteristic was his huge belly.

"The fee is forty credits per day!", he dryly said. "I do not bargain, so do not bother doing so."

"How rude!", James remarked but Luke quickly handed out the forty credits to the man and said, "The ship will stay here for about four or five days."

"Alright...", the man nonchalantly said, not caring less about what those travelers were up to. To him, only credit mattered. He had to pay protection fee to the gangs and run the place, which was pretty stressing, so he could not be bothered about others.


End file.
